AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Review - August 24, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Zero Hour: Yuya Uemura, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado and Paragon (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) def. CRU and The Don Callis Family (Josh Alexander and Hechicero)

I remember Uemura from the time he spent in TNA a few years ago. Based on the way he was spotlighted here, it looks like he's come a long way since then in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, even picking up the pin for his team here. This was your run-of-the-mill eight-man tag team match, but it got these guys on the card and it was well worked, so I guess it served its purpose.

Zero Hour: Ricochet and The Gates of Agony def. Michael Oku and JetSpeed

Oku is an England native and has made a handful of appearances on AEW TV in the past. There was a hell of a spot involving him here that arguably wasn't topped for the rest of the night. Sure, this had no storyline support whatsoever, but the crowd had a blast with it, so I can't complain too much. Plus, it was important for Ricochet and Gates of Agony to maintain momentum with another win.

Zero Hour: Megan Bayne and Triangle of Madness (Thekla, Julia Hart and Skye Blue) def. Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and Queen Aminata

Even though this was an eight-woman tag team match, I'm surprised Statlander and Nightingale would be put on the same team since they haven't made up yet. Nonetheless, this was a nice match yet more of the same from all involved. Hopefully AEW can introduce the long-rumored AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship soon so we can move forward with these women. Also, why wouldn't Cameron have been disqualified when she hit Cameron with her face mask? Or was the referee being blind per usual?

Zero Hour: AEW World Trios Champions The Opps (Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs) def. War Dogs (Robbie X, Drilla Maloney and Clark Connors)

This was quickly put together via a backstage promo that War Dogs cut on Saturday's Collision. Connors was actually in action on the first Forbidden Door event in 2022 as part of the four-way to determine the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion (it was obviously renamed the AEW International Championship later on). There was no reason to believe The Opps would lose, but for the minimal amount of time this received, it was decent.

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage def. Kip Sabian and Killswitch

From an in-ring standpoint, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this, but it was an attraction alone for Copeland and Christian reuniting. It's worth noting Christian wasn't immediately back in babyface mode, which makes sense since it would be strange for him to stop being an asshole out of nowhere. It was an entertaining opener and was what it needed to be.

AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher def. Hiromu Takahashi

Of course, this had almost no build and Takahashi didn't have even the slightest shot of taking the title from Fletcher, but at least it was one of the only "Forbidden Door" matches on the entire card. It was also a great match for the time they were allotted. Fletcher is a star on the rise and Takahashi rarely if ever disappoints, so this was a gem on the undercard.

AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone def. Persephone, Bozilla and Alex Windsor in a Four-Way Match

I knew nothing about Bozilla coming into this show, but she was certainly impressive, along with Persephone (who I have seen wrestle a few matches on ROH TV within the last year). Stardom and CMLL better have both women locked down in deals, otherwise AEW or WWE will snatch them up quickly. At any rate, this was a good four-way, but nothing that will be remembered because of how obvious the outcome was. It's safe to assume at this point that Mone will hold onto the AEW TBS Championship until she breaks Jade Cargill's record in October.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. def. Nigel McGuinness

These two put on the wrestling clinic you'd expect them to and it was a treat to watch, especially since McGuinness isn't a full-time competitor these days and hasn't been for almost a decade and a half. He had that amazing moment in the men's Casino Gauntlet on last year's All In event in London, and I'm glad he had a proper match on this London card. I figured Daniel Garcia would either cost McGuinness the win or attack him afterward, but it looks like they're saving that for later down the line.

Jamie Hayter Saved Queen Aminata from Triangle of Madness

I was disappointed Hayter didn't show up after the match involving these women on the pre-show, but I appreciate that her return made the main card this year (she returned in London last year, too, but on the All In pre-show). Thekla took out Hayter in storyline, so they're picking up where they left off with her. If Hayter can stay healthy this time, she can be a real asset to the women's division.

Brodido def. FTR and The Hurt Syndicate in a Three-Way Tag Team Match to Win the AEW World Tag Team Championship

What a mess of a match this was. At one point, it was advertised as being elimination style, but I don't think that was actually the case unless Hurt Syndicate were counted out. Speaking of whom, the finish made it incredibly obvious that the recent reports about them were true and they simply refused to do the job to FTR. Hell, FTR didn't even win, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the match was fun, but the botched finish was unfortunate, too. Brodido work well together, but why bother putting the tag titles on a makeshift team where one of the guys is the current ROH World Champion?

AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada def. Swerve Strickland

It was reported earlier in the week that Strickland has had a torn meniscus since 2019 (!!), so many expected him to take time off following this show to address that. The post-match beatdown on Strickland all but confirmed that. The match was above average but not quite on the level of what they're capable of. Considering the circumstances, it was understandable, especially since they spent a majority of the matchup telling the story of Strickland's injured knee. Wardlow returning afterward came out of nowhere. I was happy to see him back, but then he proceeded to become the millionth member of The Don Callis Family. Any hope I had for him in that moment instantly went away.

AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm def. ROH Women's World Champion Athena (ROH Women's World Championship Was Not Defended)

Another AEW pay-per-view, another top-notch title defense from Storm. It's become the norm, but that isn't to understate the excellence of both women here. Although the crowd was quiet at points, it was a strong match overall and Athena was made to look more than credible in defeat. The decisive submission win for Storm tells me that this feud won't be continuing.

AEW World Champion "Hangman" Adam Page def. CMLL World Champion MJF (CMLL World Championship Was Not Defended)

Technically, MJF is CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion, but they're billing him as CMLL World Champion, probably because it sounds like a bigger deal. The match itself was terrific and my favorite of the night. There was plenty of overbooking and shenanigans, but it added to the matchup given the stipulations (Page would've lost the title had he gotten counted-out or disqualified). This didn't count as MJF's Casino Gauntlet contract cash-in, so I still think he'll cash in successfully down the road.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Darby Allin, Will Ospreay and The Golden Lovers def. The Young Bucks, The Death Riders (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) and Gabe Kidd in a Lights Out Steel Cage Match

I'm not shocked they went with this as the main event considering the crazy shit they did, but I was largely not a fan. It was basically Anarchy in the Arena (which we already got at Double in Nothing in May), except inside of a Hell of a Cell-esque structure. It lived up to the stipulation, and I guarantee you most of AEW's audience were into it, but we see so much of this stuff in the company that it doesn't feel special anymore. If nothing else, the babyface team winning was the right call and Death Riders taking out Ospreay post-match will explain Ospreay's absence from AEW TV for the foreseeable future as he heals from (and possibly undergoes surgery for) his neck injury.

Overall Show

This was the usual loaded card from an AEW pay-per-view (including four matches on the pre-show which was unnecessary), but it was enjoyable on the whole. the atmosphere in London made a major difference. Sure, it wasn't Webley Stadium, but The O2 still looked awesome. Most of the matches on this show felt predictable, but it delivered nonetheless and I can't say I was ever bored despite the excessive runtime.

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